Transformation of biomass to liquid fuel is desirable to meet the growing demand for transportation fuels in the current diminishing fossil fuel circumstances. As the world's accessible fossil reservoirs are gradually depleted, it is crucial to develop sustainable, long-term strategies based on the utilization of renewable feed stocks. Biomass-derived molecules are inherently oxygen-rich; consequently, the excess oxygen must be removed in order to raise the energy density of the products and make them suitable for transportation fuels.
Some of the main challenges in current transformations of biomass to liquid fuel include sensitivity of such transformations to the concentration of water, and decreases in product yield as the concentration of water present increases. This requires the application of costly additional steps to achieve the desired yield, including the removal of water from reactant fermentation mixtures through distillation and controlling the water content during the reaction. The catalysts used also often have a limited lifetime, requiring high initial catalyst loading or the addition of more catalyst during the reaction.
Thus, what is needed in the art is an alternative process for producing fuels (e.g., gasoline or diesel), gasoline additives, and/or lubricants from biomass.